Here is how $14.48 million will be used for Shawnee County Courthouse renovations
Federal COVID-19 relief money will be used to pay most of the roughly $14.48 million in anticipated costs to carry out the first major renovation of the Shawnee County Courthouse since the 1980s.
The county received confirmation from a consultant, Houston-based Witt O'Brien's, that the project is eligible to be financed using ARPA funds it is receiving, county counselor Jim Crowl told The Capital-Journal on Thursday.
He spoke after county Commissioners Aaron Mays, Kevin Cook and Bill Riphahn voted 3-0 to approve a 216-page contract calling for the county to pay as much as $14,483,333 to Topeka-based Senne Co., which will be responsible for design and construction work linked to the renovation.
"While it is expensive for us, it's a big savings over what a new courthouse would cost," Mays said.
Project should last about two years
ARPA money is to cover $14,305,976 in costs, with the rest coming from the budgets of different courthouse departments, according to a document in the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.
Demolition should begin next week, with the project being expected to last about two years, Hartter told commissioners.
"There will be inconveniences but we'll try to limit those as much as we can," he said.
More:Courthouse entrance to be renovated
Project to include replacing HVAC system
Senne is partnering on the project with Topeka-based HTK Architects and PKMR Engineers, said Kenny Hartter, senior project manager for Senne.
The vote commissioners took Thursday technically involves amending the contract, which in the initial form they approved last April outlined how the construction relationship for the project would work but didn't include the "guaranteed maximum price" of $14,483,333 approved Thursday, Crowl said.
The project will include replacing the courthouse's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, and replacing every window it has, Hartter told commissioners.
More:Five Shawnee County departments will move into a building that once housed a dance hall
Project to make building more energy efficient
The courthouse's current windows have all been there since it was built, Hartter said.
That was between 1963 and 1965, said Nelda Henning, the county's director of facilities management.
Replacing the HVAC system will prove beneficial for many years, and will save the county a lot of money by making the building more energy efficient, Hartter said.
The project will also involve adding two new courtrooms, arranging for the former commission chambers in the basement to become a courtroom and renovating eight other courtrooms on the third and fourth floors, he said.
The project will give probably give the courthouse "another 15 or 20 years before any additional upgrades need to be made," Hartter said.
Gage Park Improvement Authority candidates sought
Also at Thursday's meeting, Mays announced the commission was seeking candidates to serve as the county's two volunteer representatives on the board of the Gage Park Improvement Authority, which is being created to oversee the use of revenue from a countywide sales tax approved in a Nov. 8 ballot question vote.
The ballot question's passage imposes 0.2% sales tax, raising the sales tax amount charged on every $100 purchase purchase from generally $9.15 in Topeka and $7.65 in Shawnee County to generally $9.35 in Topeka and $7.85 in Shawnee County.
The revenue involved will serve as a consistent, dedicated funding source for the Topeka Zoo, Gage Park and the Kansas Children's Discovery Center.
Mays asked anyone interested in serving on the improvement authority to email commissioners at commission@snco.us.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at 785-213-5934 or threnchir@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Senne Co. to get up to $14.48M for Shawnee County Courthouse work
